Unhairing agent



3 product of the sugar making process and Patented June 10, 1930 mane AUGUST 0. ORTI-IMANN, or MILWAUKEE, Wisconsin, Assrenon rrorrrs'rnaevoenn LEATHER 00., or MILWAUKEE, WISCONSIN, A CORPORATION or Wisconsin UNHAIRING AGENT No Drawing. Application filed March 5,

The invention relates to leather and more particularly to the treatment of the hide previous to unhairing. I

The object of the invention is to provide a new and useful agent for use in facilitating the unhairing of hides. More specifically, I have discovered that beet sugar waste, either as beet sugar molasses or the waste from beet sugar molasses after the removal of all the available sugar therefrom, when treated to render it strongly alkaline will provide an agent far superior to those com: monly used for putting the hide in condition for ready removal of the hair therefrom in that the time for preparing the hides isgreatly reduced over the methods heretofore known and the hair is in condition for ready removal.

The invention further consists in the several features hereinafter set forth and more clusion hereof.

alkali such as caustic soda or lime thereto.

By the term beet. sugar waste I mean the desugarization waste of the beet sugar process. This desugarization waste is a by has not been considered heretofore to have much commercial value. I find however, when such beet sugar waste is treated with an alkali to render it alkaline, preferably strongly alkaline and a hide is subjected to a solution of this alkaline beet sugar waste product that the hide is ready for unhairing in less than half the time usually necessary and is in a very favorable condition for hair removal. I attribute this action to the fact that the alkali above described combines with certain constituents of the beet sugar waste to liberate amines which has a marked effect. on the tissue surrounding the hair follicles or roots whereby the hair becomes loosened and may be readily removed by the usual unhairing machines or by hand.

As a specific example of the manner of 1928. Serial No. 259,388.

using the unhairing agent above described Itake 150 parts of water, 3 to 3 parts of caustic soda, 8 to 20 parts of beet sugar molasses to 33 parts of weight of hide which has preferably been previously soaked (in water).

The hides are placed in the above solution in a tank or vat and are allowed to soak therein until in a condition for unhairing and during this time the solution may be agitated by suitable mechanical means or the hides may be turned occasionally. I find that following the above formula that hides may he unhaired very satisfactorily after a period of thirty to forty-eight hours at ordinary room temperature which is about 70 Fahrenheit. To hasten the process the solution maybe heated to a temperature of about 85 Fahrenheit. During this treatment amines are liberated from the beet sugar waste in an alkaline solution and in the presence of hide so that the liberated amines can act immediately as an unhairing agent. Under the usual process of unhairing hides it requires one hundred and twenty hours or five days time to put the hides in condition for unhairing.

After the hides have been treated as noted above the solution may be used again to treat a new batch of hides and I have found that the solution may be used several times without necessitating its re newal.

In the case of beet sugar molasses, enough caustic soda is added to provide about a two per cent excess alkaline solution and depending upon the amount of sugar in' the molasses I may use from two per cent to five per cent of alkali to one hundred parts of the beet sugar molasses, by weight. Vfhere the beet sugar waste is from beet sugar molasses, after the removal of the sugar therefrom, less alkali needs to be added to render the solution strongly alkaline.

Where lime (C210) is used in place of the caustic soda I use about twenty to thirty pounds of lime to one hundred pounds of the beet sugar waste to obtain the desired I i .from the specifiedamountydepending'upon v the amount: of sugar pres entfin jhq beet, 3

sugar .w'a'ste. Whil 'I 'havementioried cans ticoda and lime lnor specific'a lly, itiwill V be understdo'd. that I may use potassium by drafte, the carbonatgsfof Esoqliummr potasfsium, ,t'risodiumjphqsp'hatefor any ptherlsuitable alkali on agent having an alkaline ea bn an i atxmim 'toz o h la d v 1 Othefvarizitidri's thafimay'omqwithin ihe j 1 What I- claim as I i'ny" ilii ven tio r l is ii 7 As a new; unhairing agent fprj 7 hides, desugal izationwaste from 1, the beet'fsug ar' process in 'a, strofiglyjlkaline condition. i

. In ftestimbhy whereoffilf affix my sigma- I 

